“Assala’mualaikum, we’re home!” Mama said as they entered their house.
“Abbu, look at my new boots!” Yusra said, kicking her shoes off and running inside while holding the box out.
Yusuf mumbled salam and headed towards the stairs to go up to his room.
“Yusuf, let’s go to the masjid for maghrib,” Abbu called out to him.
“OK,” Yusuf replied. “I’ll go make wudu.”
“Is everything okay with him?” Yusuf heard Abbu asking Mama.
Yusuf paused on the staircase, waiting for Mama’s answer.
“I’m not sure, but he was really quiet on the drive home.”
Yusuf hurried to the bathroom next to his room. The cold splash of water refreshed him as he washed up for prayer. Even if he won the new Nintendo, there was nothing to worry about as long as his parents never found out about the picture with Santa.
He reminded himself he was not going to think about it. He put a smile on his face and entered his bedroom to get his topi.
When Yusuf came down, Yusra was sitting on the bottom step, her chin in her hands.
“What are you doing?” he asked her, nudging her with his foot.
“Ew,” she said, moving away. “Your socks are stinky.”
“No, they’re not. I took out a new pair today!” Yusuf jumped the last step.
“Tomorrow’s Sunday. What are you going to do, Yusuf?” Yusra asked.
“My friends might come to play video games.”
“BO-RING. I’m going to ask Mama to drop me off at Amanda’s. Hey, there’s something sticking out of your pocket.” Yusra stood and plucked the photo out from Yusuf’s back pocket. “HUH? Yusuf, is that you?” Yusra stared at the small photo.
“Hmm? What’s that, Yusra?” Abbu asked, keys jingling in his hands, topi on his head as he stopped next to her.
Yusra held out her hand, and Abbu bent forward to look.
The photograph of Yusuf with Santa.
It was as if time had slowed down. Yusuf’s heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. His hands got sweaty as Abbu looked up, his eyebrows raised, and his mouth opened with shock on his face.
“When did you take this picture, Yusuf?” Abbu asked.
“Uhh, I can explain—”
“Mooomm!” Yusra shouted. “You’ve gotta see this! Ohmygod this is so funny but not funny at the same time.”
“What’s going on?” Mama rushed toward them, kitchen towel in her hands.
Yusra hopped around Mama, waving the photo.
“Yusra,” Abbu said firmly. “Calm down. Come on, Yusuf, let’s walk to the masjid.” Abbu put the car keys down and slipped on his sweater and shoes. He turned around and looked at Yusra who was still standing by the stairs, giggling at the photo.
“Yusra, please give me that and come with us. You should hear this, too.”
Yusra crossed her arms. “But I didn’t do anything.”
Abbu held his hand out, and Yusra dropped the photo onto his palm. “Yusra,” he said in a warning tone. “We can learn from other people’s mistakes so we don’t repeat the mistake.”
“Okay, okay,” Yusra said, zipping up her coat again.
The three of them left the house.
Abbu looked more disappointed than mad, so Yusuf decided to come clean.
“Hey, Abbu, remember that new Nintendo that’s coming out that I told you about? Yeah, so they had one on display at the mall, and it was a raffle prize! So, I got in line, and I didn’t know, but you had to take a picture with Santa for your name to go in the raffle… but I didn’t know until I got to the end…And…” Yusuf stopped.
Abbu cleared his throat. “And you really want this Nintendo and thought a picture with Santa wouldn’t be too bad and just took it?”
Yusuf shrugged. “Yeah. I thought…we do believe in Prophet Isa….” His voice trailed off.
“What do you think, Yusra?” Abbu asked her.
“Hmm, Yusuf is right. We do believe in Prophet Isa allaihi salam! But I didn’t participate in the Secret Santa gift exchange at school because you told us not to, which made me sad. I mean, we were just exchanging gifts.”
Abbu put his arm around Yusra’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “I’m sorry you were sad. Let me explain; yes, we believe in Prophet Isa allaihi salam as a messenger of Allah. On the other hand, Christians call him Christ and think he is Allah’s son. Even though Prophet Isa allaihi salam is special to us, that Christmas belief is very different from how we believe in him, isn’t it? Don’t you think that goes against our faith?”
Yusuf and Yusra nodded.
“That’s true. That was one of the first things we learned in maktab class, that Allah is One, with no family and no children,” Yusuf said.
Abbu smiled. “Exactly. And what’s Christmas all about, Yusra?”
Yusra stopped by a house decorated for Christmas. She pointed to the statue of a woman and elderly man looking at a baby in a cradle that was in their front yard.
“The birthday of Christ?”
Abbu nodded. “Christmas is all about celebrating how Christ is the son of God, astaghfirullah, and so that’s why it’s not allowed for us to celebrate Christmas or anything to do with Christmas, like Santa.”
Yusuf, Abbu, and Yusra walk to the masjid.
Yusuf and Yusra were quiet the rest of the way to the masjid as they thought about what Abbu said. When they arrived at the masjid, they removed their shoes and entered the prayer area.
The moment Yusuf stepped onto the carpeted area, a deep sense of peace wrapped him in a warm hug. They sat down, and Abbu turned to them.
"Yusuf, Yusra, I want you to remember,” he said, “our imaan is like a diamond. And we want it to sparkle as best as it could.” Abbu put his hands on their chests, where their hearts were. “Can you think of ways we can polish our Imaan?”
“Easy,” Yusuf replied. “By praying salah, reading Quran—"
“Giving charity, being good Muslims!” Yusra interrupted.
Abbu nodded. “Exactly. Those are things that are related to our religion, and they make us stronger. Christmas and other holidays celebrate things that don’t polish our imaan, so we shouldn’t celebrate it.”
“What about spending time with your family during the holiday break and exchanging gifts?” Yusuf asked.
“Yes, these are all good values that make us good Muslims. We should definitely spend time with each other and give gifts, but we don’t have to do it only during Christmas. We should do that throughout the year.”
Abbu stopped talking as the adhaan began. They listened to the strong, calming voice and then stood as the call to prayer ended. It meant that the prayer would start soon.
After maghrib salah, Yusuf raised his hands.
“Oh Allah, I know Christmas is something we don’t celebrate. Please forgive me for taking that silly picture. But I really want a Nintendo, so please, please allow my parents to gift it to me for Eid. Or,” he paused.
Yusuf had a goal to finish reading the Qur’an. He had sixteen surahs left; if he worked really hard, he would be done way before Eid. Mama and Abbu had promised him whatever he wanted if he memorized the entire last chapter of the Quran.
“Please let me get one when I finish memorizing my juz amma. So please, help me finish memorizing it!”
Yusuf smiled. He felt much better and lighthearted as they left the masjid.